Eastern Victoria Region
Ms BATH (Eastern Victoria) (12:53): (1829) My constituency question is for the Minister for Child Protection and Family Services. As a young single mother my constituent was called upon by the Victorian child protection service and given only 15 minutes notice to take over the care of her three traumatised nephews. When the children arrived at her doorway there was limited conversation between the workers and my constituent. The only words were, ‘They are a handful, and we’re wondering how you’re going to manage them’. Following this placement many calls were made and emails were sent to the department by my constituent pleading for support, but all communications were ignored. The Victorian foster carer charter sets out a commitment to establish regular channels of communication. My constituent wants to know why this is not extended to kinship carers.